Elon Musk, Magic Johnson and Bill Clinton Come Together for Milken Institute Annual Global Conference

The 27 the Milken Institute Annual Global Conference was held May 5-8, 2024 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. There were 4,500 attendees, over 1000 speakers, including global leaders, C-suite executives from Fortune 500 companies, high-level advisors, and avant-garde innovators in health, finance, technology, philanthropy, medical research, diversity and inclusion, sports, and media.

This exciting conference confronted many exceptive issues facing the world today with discussions ranging from the ongoing climate crisis to the complexities of artificial intelligence, issues from longevity, and the impact of philanthropy.

Rachel Ganz

Michael Milken with former US President Bill Clinto

This was my first Milken Institute Conference that exposed me to many of the critical issues facing the world today, with its impact on global workers, firms, and markets. This years' event with strengthen and unify our catalytic community to solve these issues, and embrace the opportunity to collectively shape our shared future.

There were reflections on recent disruptions and innovations, translating lessons learned into the establishment of meaningful, happy, healthy and flourishing lives for all. "Together, we can progress towards a world where our united efforts harvest transformative results," said one speaker.

There were numerous panels and discussions relating to the continued growth expected in private markets, with investors and bankers expecting a rise in market leaders Mergers and acquisitions are optimistically expected to resurge due to stable interest rates, better economic outlooks and more prudent valuations from sellers.

Rachel Ganz

Magic Johnson

The conference described partiality towards the US residential real estate market, more than to commercial real estate. There was an investor circumspection and caution on International markets, due to the predicted challenges and defiance in other countries.

A few of the celebrities and distinguished a CEO participants included, Elon Musk, Co-Founder and Technology at Tesla; Ken Griffin, Citadel CEO; Karen Bass, Los Angeles Mayor; Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Chairman and CEO, Magic Johnson Enterprises: Richard Sandler, Executive Vice President, Milken Family Foundation & author, and most importantly Michael Milken, Chairman, Milken Institute & author of his latest book," Faster Cures: Accelerating the Future of Health" by Michael Milken with Geoffrey Evans Moor

Some of the government and political leaders included: Javier Milei, President of Argentina; Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan; William J. Clinton, 42 nd President of the United States; H.E. Ivan Duque Marquez, 33 RD President of Columbi;, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director ,International Monetary Fund; Ilan Goldfijn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank; Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo; Theresa May, 54 th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Ambassador Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme; Kevin McCarthy, 55 TH Speaker of the US House of Representative; Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda ; Governor of Baja California; Mauricio Vila Dosal, Governor of Yucatan; Members of the U.S. Congress, including Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey : Bill Cassidy of Louisiana; James Lankford of Oklahoma; Joe Manchin of West Virginia: and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona .

Rachel Ganz

Reception at the Citadel.

There were so many fascinating speakers it was difficult to make a choice. A conversation with Elon Musk was one of the most popular and well attended sessions of the week. Musk chatted about a wide range of topics, from space travel, artificial intelligence (Al), to birthrates and more. Host Michael Milken, asked Elon Musk, how he felt or if he believed in in Aliens. Musk said that he has not seen any convincing evidence of "either aliens or any craft operated by non-human intelligence. "SpaceX, with, the Starlink constellation, has roughly 6,000 satellites, and not once have we had to maneuver around a UFO! So I'm like, okay, I don't see any evidence of aliens."

In his conversation about artificial intelligence, Elon stated," I do think it's important that we build the Al in a way that is beneficial to humanity ...The Al should not be taught to lie, it should not be taught to say things that are not true. Even if those things are politically incorrect, it should still say what it believes to be true."

Elon Musk discussed the declining birthrates in the United States and worldwide. In South Korea, which once had a birthrate of six, now has a rate closer to 0.75. In a humorous moment, during the session, a message flashed on the screen saying, "Elon, come pick me up. I'll give you a baby". It drew laughter, and Musk, playfully suggested that everyone should have at least three children

One consequential factor why people are not having more children today is the cost. Raising a child today is expensive. The Institute of Family Studies reports the price ranges from $202, 248 to $430,928 per child.

Rachel Ganz

Michael Milken/ Chairman. Rachel Ganz/ writer

Elon Musk currently has 11 children but he is anticipating having a few more babies. I am happy that he can afford them.

The Closing Plenary "Shaping a Shared Future: A Conversation with Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, moderated by Michael Milken, Chairman, Milken Institute on Wednesday May 8, 2024 was spectacular!

President Clinton's lifetime commitment to public service on HIV equity, his belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed and be happy, and that we all do better when we work together.

Michael Milken opened the conversation by asking Bill Clinton how he likes spending time with his three grand-children, and then went on to discuss how a march in 1998, where half a million people in WashingtonDC came together to increase the N.I.H budget. Within two months President Bill Clinton signed into law the doubling of the N.I.H budget, something that had not been done in 20 years.

Our society Incremental benefits totals $500 billion. The Clinton Health access initiative has improved public health globally .

There was a lively closing concert and reception featuring legendary Grammy award-winning artist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival Rock Band), and Grammy –nominated singer/song writer Aloe Blacc.

It was an honor and a privilege to attend, listen and learn from so many brilliant, and humanitarian Speakers, all dedicated to "Shaping a Shared Future" and making this world a better place for everyone, (and future generations)!

The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank focused on accelerating measurable progress on the path to a meaningful life. It was founded in 1991 by the chairman and great philanthropic, Michael Milken.

For more information: https://milkeninstitute.org or https://globalconference.org